{"id":24664,"date":"2021-03-02T10:14:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T10:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/?p=24664"},"modified":"2021-03-02T10:14:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T10:14:15","slug":"why-eq-is-vital-for-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/why-eq-is-vital-for-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotional Intelligence: Why it is Vital for Successful Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div>

Why Emotional Intelligence is Vital for Successful Leaders<\/span><\/h1>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Emotional <\/span>i<\/span>ntelligence <\/span>(EQ) <\/span>was <\/span>named by <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span> as one of the<\/span> <\/span>T<\/span>op 5 <\/span>S<\/span>oft <\/span>S<\/span>kill<\/span>s<\/span><\/a> in <\/span>2020<\/span>, defined <\/span>in<\/span> this study as<\/span> <\/span>\u201cthe ability to perceive, evaluate, and respond to your own emotions and the emotions of others.\u201d<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

I<\/span>n <\/span>recent years EQ <\/span>has<\/span> becom<\/span>e<\/span> <\/span>increasingly<\/span> recognised as a<\/span> trait <\/span>integral to excellent<\/span><\/b> and desirable<\/span><\/b> leadership<\/span><\/b>.<\/span> The <\/span>stress and <\/span>hardships inflicted by the Covid<\/span>-19<\/span> crisis are also highlighting its importance, with leaders having to show more empathy for the <\/span>unique <\/span>struggles <\/span>that <\/span>e<\/span>mployees are<\/span> facing<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Today<\/span>,<\/span> e<\/span>mployees want to work in<\/span> \u2018human\u2019<\/span> organisations <\/span>w<\/span>here <\/span>they are valued<\/span>, and <\/span>leaders<\/span><\/b>\u2019 behaviours<\/span><\/b> play a<\/span><\/b>n<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>influential<\/span><\/b> role in the culture, values and <\/span><\/b>em<\/span><\/b>ployee experience. <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

For leaders, high EQ supports <\/span>career advancement and leadership success.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>In the book <\/span>Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, <\/span><\/i>Daniel Goleman, a <\/span>psychologist, <\/span>argues that EQ<\/span> accounts for \u201c<\/span>67%<\/span><\/b> of the abilities necessary for <\/span>superior leadership performance.<\/span><\/b>\u201d <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Many<\/span> <\/span>scientific experts <\/span>consider <\/span>EQ<\/span> as<\/span> the result of factors<\/span> both<\/span> inherent and environmental,<\/span> offering<\/span> <\/span>scope for leaders to develop <\/span>and improve <\/span>the constituent skills of <\/span>EQ<\/span>. <\/span>Goleman defines t<\/span>hese <\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>s<\/span><\/b>elf-<\/span><\/b>a<\/span><\/b>wareness<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>s<\/span><\/b>elf-<\/span><\/b>r<\/span><\/b>egulation, <\/span><\/b>s<\/span><\/b>ocial <\/span><\/b>s<\/span><\/b>kills<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>m<\/span><\/b>otivation, and <\/span><\/b>e<\/span><\/b>mpathy.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>decisions that leaders take<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>reflect<\/span><\/b> on the<\/span><\/b>ir abilities to lead<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>and <\/span>therefore affect<\/span> <\/span>their<\/span> progress<\/span>ion and career trajectory<\/span>. <\/span>Empathy, one aspect of EQ, can<\/span> help leaders <\/span>to make <\/span>better <\/span>decisions, as it helps them <\/span>to <\/span>understand the <\/span><\/b>likely <\/span><\/b>implications <\/span><\/b>and <\/span><\/b>consequences <\/span><\/b>of different choices,<\/span><\/b> allowing them to weigh up <\/span>different <\/span>options and<\/span> <\/span>select the <\/span>most promising<\/span> one. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Improving <\/span>EQ c<\/span>ould also<\/span> <\/span>enhance <\/span>leaders\u2019 communication skills, which<\/span> <\/span>affects how they <\/span>build relationships, <\/span><\/b>motivat<\/span><\/b>e<\/span><\/b> others<\/span><\/b>, and <\/span><\/b>drive <\/span><\/b>productivity and performance.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>Using<\/span> <\/span><\/b>EQ <\/span>can help <\/span>leaders<\/span> <\/span>to anticipate the reactions <\/span>of others<\/span>, allowing them to <\/span>communicate accordingly<\/span>. <\/span>For instance, i<\/span>n situations where the leader must deliver tough news, e<\/span>mpathy<\/span> <\/span>can help <\/span>them<\/span> <\/span>in expressing<\/span> <\/span>messages<\/span> with<\/span> <\/span>tact<\/span> and respect<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders with high EQ <\/span>can<\/span> <\/span>recognise their emotions<\/span><\/b> and control their responses<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>This can be helpful when dealing with <\/span>stressful<\/span> situations<\/span>, pressure<\/span>, and uncertainty.<\/span> <\/span>As a leader, it is importa<\/span>nt <\/span>to take measured action<\/span>s<\/span> and be capable of <\/span>acting <\/span>reasonably<\/span><\/b> and rational<\/span><\/b>ly<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>If a<\/span> <\/span>leader lets<\/span> their emotions get the better of them<\/span> <\/span>and do<\/span>es<\/span> not possess the abilities <\/span>to identify and check the<\/span>m<\/span>, they<\/span> <\/span>could<\/span> risk<\/span> making <\/span>bad<\/span> decision<\/span>s<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>eroding others’ trust<\/span>, and damaging their reputation.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

As leaders <\/span>often <\/span>receive less constructive feedback than<\/span> more junior employees,<\/span> it can be useful to seek out <\/span>honest and <\/span><\/b>candid feedback<\/a> <\/span><\/b>\u2013 from coaches, employees, or even friends and family. In<\/span>deed,<\/span> <\/span>some r<\/span>ecommend<\/span><\/a> that <\/span>leaders<\/span> can benefit<\/span> from approaching<\/span> peop<\/span>le who know <\/span>them <\/span>well and asking <\/span>for frank feedback on<\/span> their<\/span> emotional strengths and weaknesses<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Ultimately, while high EQ can propel leaders\u2019 careers, <\/span>low<\/span> EQ c<\/span>an<\/span> <\/span>be <\/span>highly<\/span> damaging. <\/span>Thus, <\/span>developing EQ is not only desirable but essential for <\/span><\/b>successful <\/span><\/b>leaders.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

References: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Emotional Intelligence Is Key to Outstanding Leadership, February 2018, <\/span>SHRM.<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Leading by Feel, 2004, <\/span>Harvard Business Review.<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Why Emotional Intelligence Is Indispensable For Leaders, October 2017, <\/span>Forbes.<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in a Leader, September 2018, <\/span>Medium.<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Emotional intelligence (EQ) was named by LinkedIn as one of the Top 5 Soft Skills in 2020, defined in this study as \u201cthe ability to perceive, evaluate, and respond to your own emotions and the emotions of others.\u201d  In recent years EQ has become increasingly recognised as a trait integral to excellent and desirable leadership. The stress and hardships inflicted by the Covid-19 crisis are also highlighting its importance, with leaders having to show more empathy for the unique struggles that employees are facing. Today, employees want to work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","myguten_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24664"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24678,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24664\/revisions\/24678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strammer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}